They finally have the green light. The implementing decree in the Official Journal of the PMA for all appeared this Wednesday, September 29, making this new right effective a month and a half after the
promulgation of the bioethics law. But even before the publication of the decrees, reproduction professionals warned: demands are exploding.
And it does not date from yesterday. “We see single women and couples coming to the center for medically assisted procreation for more than two years, ensures Mikaël Agopiantz, gynecologist and coordinator of the Center for Medicated Reproductive Assistance (AMP) at the Nancy CHRU. Since the first reading in the Assembly and newspaper headlines on the law
PMA for all adopted in October 2019, since most people do not know parliamentary shuttles, many women have asked us: “When can we start?” We explained to them that nothing had been done yet. “
“All MPA centers are overwhelmed”
It is therefore with great relief that some women will be able to start a MAP course in the coming days. But they are not at the end of their sentence. Because for months, reproduction professionals have warned that they risked running out of resources. The ministry recognizes it, the influx has been underestimated: around 3,500 requests related to the law have already been registered, against the 1,000 expected beforehand …
“All MPA centers are overwhelmed, confirms Catherine guillemain, responsible for theaboratory of reproductive biology at Marseille University Hospital and president of the
French Federation of Centers for the Study and Conservation of Human Eggs and Sperm (Cecos). Some have a hundred appointments waiting … Others are so underwater that they cannot make a waiting list. Before the law, we were already in super tight flow! For heterosexual couples, the wait lasts on average fifteen months for sperm donation, and twenty months for egg donation.
8 million euros to reduce the wait
The ministry has set itself an ambitious goal: to reduce these delays to six months. “In the first few years, we will have to absorb, in addition to heterosexual couples, three types of patient: those whose project is currently starting, those who have been waiting for several years for things to be unblocked, and those who had started a journey to ‘foreigners and who prefer to go near their homes,’ lists Mikaël Agopiantz.
To respond to the current and especially future influx, Olivier Véran promised on September 14 an additional envelope € 8 million by 2023. The AMP centers will receive 4 million euros as of this year, half for equipment and the other for staff, and the rest will follow in 2022 and 2023. Which is added to the 3.3 million euros already planned at the start of the year. “PMA for all is a major societal advance, awaited by many families. We must take all necessary measures to ensure that this new law is effective, concrete and respectful of the plans of these families ”, declared Olivier Véran.
Many professionals to find
A late boost, but welcomed. ” This advert Did us a lot of good, because we had long warned about the insufficiency of the allocated envelopes, admits Catherine Guillemain. It is especially on the centers that manage sperm donation [28 sur les 100 centres d’AMP] that it is necessary to concentrate the effort. If the management plays the game in order to hire quickly, meet the equipment needs, we should have the means to operate within a reasonable period of time. We are working on it. But you know what administrative deadlines are… ”
Especially since in order to function, the AMP centers require many professionals: biologists, gynecologists, secretaries, technicians, social workers, psychologists… “And they have part-time jobs each time,” specifies the president of the Cecos. The challenge will be to find volunteers who agree to take one day a week in such and such an MPA center. If you start posting procedures right away, it easily takes a month and a half to hire. We formalized our letters to Santa Claus… ”
Sperm donation deficit
But the financial and human question is only part of the problem. By definition, new patients, alone or in couples, will need donated sperm. Gold, in 2019 in France there were 317 sperm donors… Against 386 in 2018. “We need a very significant increase in the number of donors in France, otherwise the delays will explode,” warns Mikaël Agopiantz.
The ministry has promised an awareness campaign on the issue. According to the Biomedicine Agency, it should start in October. Too late ? “If the communication campaign arrives in the fall, it is logical, because people will understand that PMA for all is now”, welcomes the contrary Mikaël Agopiantz.
A report in a year to correct the situation
Despite all these fears, between the publication of the decrees and the announcement of a significant envelope, many applaud. “We had a very long bioethics law to give birth – more than two years – setbacks compared to the requests of associations of patients and future patients, recalls Mikaël Agopiantz. But the MPA centers are at the heart of the reactor, we are heard and the Minister does the job! We got three big important changes. First, the principle of non-discrimination on sexual orientation or marital status. Then, a report in a year which will allow us to assess and make changes. Finally, an infertility plan, because taking charge of assisted reproduction is good, prevention is better. “
And the gynecologist reminds us that patience is still the order of the day. “We are at the end of the legislative process, and at the start of the care process for these patients. “
You are a single woman or in a relationship with a woman, will this new access change your plans? Have you already inquired? Are you thinking of embarking on a MAP course? You had started a career abroad, do you want to continue it in France? Do you fear or have you experienced discrimination in your career?